Falkenburg

Summary:
In 1720, the city council permitted one Jewish family to settle in Falkenburg on condition that they would financially support local manufacturers in obtaining raw materials such as wool and leather. It was not until the end of that century that another Jewish family settled there.
Falkenburg’s Jewish population grew during the 19th century until Jews there were eventually able to form a congregation. The community maintained a synagogue (consecrated in 1841), a chevra kadisha and a sisterhood. A community functionary served as teacher, cantor and shochet until 1913, at which point an official from Dramburg took over these duties.
In 1881, as anti-Semitic riots swept Pomerania, Jews and Jewish-owned properties were attacked in Falkenburg.
On Pogrom Night, the synagogue was burned down completely. Those Jews who did not manage to escape during the following years were, presumably, deported to the East. Approximately 60 Jews born in Falkenburg perished in the death camps.
Rudolf Katz, a native of Falkenburg who spent the war years in the United States, served as Minister of Justice in Schleswig-Holstein and, later, as vice president of the federal constitutional court.